Decorah High School student art receives honors

Tuesday, February 25, 2014 8:56 AM

Six Decorah High School students’ artwork is currently on display at the State Historical Building as part of the annual juried Youth Art Month Exhibit sponsored by Art Educators of Iowa.
Big Canoe Stone Church by Charlie Baldwin, Self-Portrait by Laurel Fadness, Dunning’s Spring Bridge by Lydia Hayes, Self-Portrait by Annalise Johnson, Self-Portrait by Madi Sparrow, and Fifth Avenue Bridge by Faith Vilardo are part of the 2014 Youth Art Month show.
The Youth Art Month exhibit is open to the public throughout the month of March. Students and families are invited to attend a celebration to view the exhibit and receive awards Saturday, March 1, at 1:30 p.m. at the State Historical Building.
I’m Late: A Self-Portrait by Madi Sparrow, a self-portrait in graphite with Alice in Wonderland references, is part of the Governor’s Show.
Sparrow’s artwork will be on display with other Governor’s Show winners during the month of March in the governor’s office. A tour of the capitol building and an awards ceremony in the governor’s office for winners is March 10.
Faith Vilardo’s Fifth Avenue Bridge and Lydia Hayes’ Dunning’s Spring Bridge were also Gold Key winners in the Scholastic Art and Writing competition sponsored by the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa.
Their artwork will advance to the national competition. Vilardo and Hayes are seniors at Decorah High School.
Laurel Fadness, a sophomore, received a Silver Key award for her self-portrait. Madi Sparrow, a senior, also received a Silver Key award for her self-portrait, I’m Late, in the competition. Scholastic Art and Writing Honorable Mention awards were given to Annalise Johnson for her self-portrait Who I’ve Always Been and to Madi Sparrow for her self-portrait I’ll Fly Away.
The Iowa Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards ceremony is April 5, at the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
All Iowa Scholastic Art award winners (Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention) and their teachers will be honored.
All award winning art work will be included in a virtual exhibit and will be available on DVD. High School visual arts instructor is Elizabeth Lorentzen.